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South Caucasus News

S. Korea, Denmark discuss clean energy cooperation


South Korea’s industry ministry said Friday it has discussed ways to expand bilateral ties in the clean energy sector, including hydrogen, with its Danish counterpart, Azernews reports, citing Yonhap News Agency.

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South Caucasus News

Swift tour prompts economists to upgrade Singapore GDP forecast


Economists upgraded their first-quarter growth forecasts for Singapore, with some attributing the gains in part to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, Report informs via Bloomberg.

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South Caucasus News

Trump meets with Hungary’s leader, Viktor Orban


Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met with former US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida, Bertalan Havasi, Head of the Press Office of the Prime Minister, Report informs.

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South Caucasus News

Polish FM: Macron’s idea of Western troops in Ukraine is not unthinkable


The idea of the presence of Western troops in Ukraine proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron shouldn’t be dismissed, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Radosław Sikorski, during a Polish Sejm conference dedicated to the 25th anniversary

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Audio Review - South Caucasus News

The Daily Beat: 8 March


Opposition-minded Mtavari Arkhi TV reported that Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze ordered the demolition of the iron fence around the government administration building, which his predecessor, Irakli Garibashvili, erected to shield himself from “noisy” protesters. By Friday afternoon, an iron fence around the government administration building has been entirely removed. Commenting on the matter, Georgian Dream lawmakers seem as happy with the demolition as they were with its installation.


A house converted into a mosque has sparked conflict between local Orthodox Christians and Muslims in the small town of Adigeni in the southwest of the country. A group of people, supposedly orthodox Christians, surrounded a house, threatening the owner of the house, behaving aggressively, and now allowing local Muslims to pray. Dozens of police officers were dispatched to the scene to avoid further escalation. Reportedly, with the facilitation of the local authorities, conflicting parties agreed that the house would no longer function as a mosque.


Following the German Embassy in Tbilisi, the EU delegation to Georgia also replied to Speaker Shalva Papuashvili’s request to explain former justice minister Zurab Adeishvili’s appearance in EU institutions, saying he attended the meetings at EU institutions as part of the delegation accompanying Ukraine’s Prosecutor General. “Portraying this meeting in another way is disinformation,” the EU Delegation in Georgia said, adding that “fighting disinformation against the EU is step 1 out of the nine steps towards opening EU accession negotiations.”


Opposition party “Droa” members claim that they accidentally witnessed and overheard a private conversation between Russia-linked businessman Davit Khidasheli and the Vice-Speaker from the ruling Georgian Dream party, Gia Volski, which took place on 6 March, in a café near the parliament building. Droa party published a photo-video material confirming the meeting; however, it quoted the content of the dialogue itself. Droa claims that Khidasheli and Volski discussed the possible restoration of the Abkhazian railway, as well as direct contacts and business relations with occupied Abkhazia.


In the meantime, the Kremlin’s man in charge of occupied Abkhazia’s “foreign relations,” Inal Ardzinba, sees the future of Abkhazia in the Union State of Russia and Belarus. “Our main task is the Belarus project. We understand that the road leading to the Union State is quite long and difficult. Nevertheless, a significant, overwhelming majority of the country’s population supports this approach,” claimed Ardzinba at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations conference in Sochi.


The Council of Europe’s “Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalistspublished its 2024 annual report, mentioning Georgia’s case in several contexts. The report refers to the cases of several Russian opposition journalists who were denied entry to Georgia, as well as pressure on the media through funding mechanisms and police obstruction of the media work. The document also positively mentions the pardon of Mtavari Arkhi TV founder Nika Gvaramia by President Salome Zurabishvili as a positive development.  


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South Caucasus News

The Daily Beat: 8 March


Opposition-minded Mtavari Arkhi TV reported that Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze ordered the demolition of the iron fence around the government administration building, which his predecessor, Irakli Garibashvili, erected to shield himself from “noisy” protesters. By Friday afternoon, an iron fence around the government administration building has been entirely removed. Commenting on the matter, Georgian Dream lawmakers seem as happy with the demolition as they were with its installation.


A house converted into a mosque has sparked conflict between local Orthodox Christians and Muslims in the small town of Adigeni in the southwest of the country. A group of people, supposedly orthodox Christians, surrounded a house, threatening the owner of the house, behaving aggressively, and now allowing local Muslims to pray. Dozens of police officers were dispatched to the scene to avoid further escalation. Reportedly, with the facilitation of the local authorities, conflicting parties agreed that the house would no longer function as a mosque.


Following the German Embassy in Tbilisi, the EU delegation to Georgia also replied to Speaker Shalva Papuashvili’s request to explain former justice minister Zurab Adeishvili’s appearance in EU institutions, saying he attended the meetings at EU institutions as part of the delegation accompanying Ukraine’s Prosecutor General. “Portraying this meeting in another way is disinformation,” the EU Delegation in Georgia said, adding that “fighting disinformation against the EU is step 1 out of the nine steps towards opening EU accession negotiations.”


Opposition party “Droa” members claim that they accidentally witnessed and overheard a private conversation between Russia-linked businessman Davit Khidasheli and the Vice-Speaker from the ruling Georgian Dream party, Gia Volski, which took place on 6 March, in a café near the parliament building. Droa party published a photo-video material confirming the meeting; however, it quoted the content of the dialogue itself. Droa claims that Khidasheli and Volski discussed the possible restoration of the Abkhazian railway, as well as direct contacts and business relations with occupied Abkhazia.


In the meantime, the Kremlin’s man in charge of occupied Abkhazia’s “foreign relations,” Inal Ardzinba, sees the future of Abkhazia in the Union State of Russia and Belarus. “Our main task is the Belarus project. We understand that the road leading to the Union State is quite long and difficult. Nevertheless, a significant, overwhelming majority of the country’s population supports this approach,” claimed Ardzinba at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations conference in Sochi.


The Council of Europe’s “Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalistspublished its 2024 annual report, mentioning Georgia’s case in several contexts. The report refers to the cases of several Russian opposition journalists who were denied entry to Georgia, as well as pressure on the media through funding mechanisms and police obstruction of the media work. The document also positively mentions the pardon of Mtavari Arkhi TV founder Nika Gvaramia by President Salome Zurabishvili as a positive development.  


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South Caucasus News

The Daily Beat: 8 March – Civil Georgia


The Daily Beat: 8 March  Civil Georgia

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South Caucasus News

Azerbaijan vulnerable to climate change, host of UN summit says – Financial Times


Azerbaijan vulnerable to climate change, host of UN summit says  Financial Times

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South Caucasus News

Azerbaijan Soccer Europa League | National Sports | hjnews.com – The Herald Journal


Azerbaijan Soccer Europa League | National Sports | hjnews.com  The Herald Journal

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South Caucasus News

@emin_bred: @DrewOCCRP There were plans to show a tyrant like Ilham Aliyev as an amazing person


There were plans to show a tyrant like Ilham Aliyev as an amazing person

— Emin Bred (@emin_bred) March 9, 2024